Wis., Minn. tuition reciprocity stokes rivalry

The longtime tuition reciprocity agreement between Wisconsin and Minnesota is stoking a cross-border rivalry as the two states compete for a declining number of top college prospects.

The decades-old agreement allows students from either state to pay in-state tuition across the border. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the University of Minnesota's main Twin Cities campus is the biggest recipient of Wisconsin residents.

That's tough competition for University of Wisconsin campuses in places River Falls and Superior. Both try to offset the competition by attracting Minnesotans. Declining birthrates are expected to shrink the pool of prospective students in both states for the next few years.

Campus officials in both states said the reciprocity arrangement is popular with students and their families, and mutually beneficial to both states.

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